- Shooting guns competetively and recreationally (haven't been going that much because of ammo prices right now)
- Mountain biking
- Hiking (Trying to get all 52 14ers in Colorado while I'm here. 8 so far, 9 more planned for the summer)
- Camping
- Volleyball
- BBQing

not really struggling with any thing at this point. Just starting out to be honest. Haven't made any gear purchases. I mainly just hike with a old backpack I had from college. I was just looking for any advice on useful gear, or things to avoid, etc.

Pretty much everything neni said. Your biggest enemy with backpacking is weight. Leave anything you don't absolutely need behind. Even 1lb of extra weight will make a big difference when hiking in 6+ miles.

I had to pull a stuck 4runner 2 miles back up to the top of a mountain Sunday because it didnt have the power to get up the rocky and sift dirt terrain.... I'll stick with my big ass dodge diesel 1 ton and the knowledge I have from years of trail riding. none of the guys in jeeps and toyotas thought I could get back to where they were, none of them had the power to pull the guy out. One small brush scratch and an hour later he was out... Dunno wtf people think sometimes but he is a skier after all.

Pretty much everything neni said. Your biggest enemy with backpacking is weight. Leave anything you don't absolutely need behind. Even 1lb of extra weight will make a big difference when hiking in 6+ miles.

Dunno man. I carry tons of shit all the time and hike in the mtns a lot. I almost always have 25-30 lbs on my back. I also always take my .45 long colt Revolver in case animals get crazy. Had a moose that was trying to get frisky last week, I was ready to put a cap in his ass.... I worry way more about moose and mtn lions than bear..... Magnesium stick, compass, extra water(usually 3 liters), extra food, extra layer, first aid, camera, whistle, and other random shit..... Going light with minimal stuff is all good until one of your crew gets hurt 10 miles into a 22 mile round trip day hike.....

Now you get to do the 4runner wave. When you see another runner when your driving the beast, wave to the other driver with 4 fingers.

Sweet! I already took it out in some stuff near my house. They're building a new subdivision so I went in and climbed some slopes for fun. Nothing crazy but had a blast... Going to give it a good shakedown around town before I head out into the woods with it.

Going light with minimal stuff is all good until one of your crew gets hurt 10 miles into a 22 mile round trip day hike.....

What are you bringing that's going to make that so much easier? Crutches? A spine board? You can make a splint with sticks or hiking poles and stop bleeding with a t-shirt. Much more of an injury than that and there's no way anyone's bringing enough gear to treat it. Bring a PLB if you're that worried. Traveling light helps prevent injury by allowing you to have more energy and agility. Cutting down the weight of your major items (tent, sleeping gear, pack) and leaving unnecessary items would also allow you to carry more emergency gear for the same or less weight than you're carrying now.

I'm much happier since I started carrying less. With some newly acquired gear, my base weight is going to be just a tick over 10lbs (not including food or water, but I only carry 20oz of water anyways - it's pretty wet here). Just got an alcohol stove and am super happy with it and the crazy light anodized aluminum pot I got with it. Shaved a pound off just my cook kit. When I get my 2lb TarpTent in I'll be able to do an overnight with my REI Flash 30 pack. Besides making it easier to go further and hike burlier terrain, cutting all that weight will allow me to take more camera gear. And for me a lot of the appeal of backpacking is the mental exercise of carrying exactly what you need and not having a bunch of unnecessary clutter. I do carry a 44 Magnum though (the S&W Airweight version). We've got big critters around here.